Exam View: 26 April 2018 Current Affairs

Current Affair of 26 April 2018, Exam View.

NATIONAL

Kerala CM launched Pravasi Pension Scheme

Kerala chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Saturday launched Pravasi pension scheme.
The scheme gives those hailing from Kerala but living outside the state or country, a pension of ₹2,000 a month. People over the age of 60 years are eligible for the pension

To avail the scheme, one needs to pay ₹100 every month. They should enroll in the scheme launched by Kerala Pravasi Pension Board. The contribution would be for five years
The scheme is not applicable for state and central government employees. Pinarayi Vijayan later addressing a meeting explained the importance of Pravasi scheme.“Apart from tourism, Pravasis are the major income source to Kerala. We came up with the scheme for the benefit of Pravasi population

‘Sagar Kavach’ began in Kerala

A two-day coastal security exercise ‘Sagar Kavach’ began on 24 april 2018 to strengthen and assess the loopholes in the coastal security mechanism along Kerala shores.

Apart from the Coast Guard, the Navy, Coastal Police and Marine Enforcement wing and various other security stakeholders were also participating in the exercise.
Three ships of the navy, 10 of Coastguard, four fishing boats, besides 20 coastal police stations from Vizhinjam to Kasaragod are among those taking part in the drill held twice a year.

NITI Aayog to Open Applications for Atal New India Challenge

The Atal Innovation Mission (AIM), under NITI Aayog, will launch a challenge today in which grants of up to Rs 1 crore and mentorship will be given to the winning ideas.
Under the Atal New India Challenge, in collaboration with five ministries, AIM will invite prospective innovators to design market-ready products, using cutting edge technologies across 17 identified focus areas such as Smart Mobility, Predictive Maintenance of Rolling Stock and Waste Management
, this grant will be further supplemented by mentoring, handholding, incubating and other support as needed at various stages of commercialisation, while generating wider deployment for the product.

The Madras High Court on recently became the first court in south India and eighth in the country to introduce e-court fee payment facility
Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami and Chief Justice Indira Banerjee jointly launched the facility at the principal seat of the High Court here as well as its Madurai Bench.
The Supreme Court and the High Courts in Delhi, Punjab, Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and Himachal Pradesh had introduced the e-court fee payment facility.

In a first, India to host Asian Weightlifting C’ships next year

In a historic first for Indian weightlifting, the country will host the prestigious Asian Championship next year.
which will also double up as a qualifying event for the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo, the national federation

The last edition of the Asian Championship was held in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, from April 23-29.

Dakota DC-3 aircraft to be inducted into IAF

1940’s vintage Dakota DC-3 aircraft soon to be inducted into Indian Air Force

To honour the first Dakota which transported troops of the 1st Sikh Regiment to Srinagar on 27 Oct 47 during the Kashmir conflict, the Indian Air Force has allocated the aircraft with a registration number.
Built in 1944, the aircraft served in the military with the RAF and was also operated by various civil airlines.
An aircraft of this generation being flown to India from across the world after its restoration is an unprecedented event in the history of the IAF and joins our vintage flight which was raised in Palam in 1988.

LIFE

World Malaria Day observed on 25th April

Every year, April 25 is celebrated as World Malaria Day.

Malaria is a life-threatening disease which is caused by mosquito bites. Malaria is caused by Plasmodium parasite and is transmitted in humans through the bite of Anopheles mosquito.

World Malaria Day 2018 has “Ready to beat malaria” as its theme.

After an infected mosquito bites a human, the parasites begin to multiply in the person’s liver.

Land Degradation Neutrality

In the recently inaugurated Asia-Pacific Regional Workshop of the UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), Union Minister for Environment has underlined the critical need to achieve Land Degradation Neutrality (LDN) by 2030.

Land Degradation Neutrality (LDN) has been defined as

‘A state whereby the amount and quality of land resources, necessary to support ecosystem functions and services and enhance food security, remains stable or increases within specified temporal and spatial scales and ecosystems.’

LDN represents a paradigm shift in land management policies and practices.

It is a unique approach that counterbalances the expected loss of productive land with the recovery of degraded areas.

As land is fixed in quantity, there is ever-increasing competition to control land resources, which has the potential to cause social and political instability, exacerbating poverty, conflict and migration.

Use of fly ash in mosquito control

Fly ash, a harmful byproduct of coal-based power generation, has found a new use in controlling mosquito.

Scientists at Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) and Pondicherry University have successfully used fly ash as a carrier for Bacillus Thuringiensis Israelensis (Bti), a bio-pesticide used for killing larvae of many insects.

Bti formulation containing fly ash as carrier and carboxymethyl cellulose as additive to be effective against mosquito larvae.

For successful application, Bti formulation needs an additive and a carrier.

At present, Plaster of Paris and charcoal are used for this purpose.

The new study has found that the use of fly ash as carrier material for can enhance chances of its ingestion.

During 2016-2017, 169.25 million tons of fly ash was generated in India but only around 63 per cent was properly utilized in cement plants, ready mix concrete, road construction, brick manufacturing and other sectors.

Giant Mosquito Found In China

A super-sized mosquito with a wingspan of 11.15 centimetres has been found in China’s Sichuan province.

According to curator of the Insect Museum of West China, the mosquito belongs to the world’s largest mosquito species Holorusia mikado

These mosquitoes look horrendous, but do not feed on blood. The adults have a lifespan of only a few days and mainly feed on nectar.

In the western parts of Sichuan, Holorusia mikado, also known as the crane fly, are mainly found in the Chengdu plain and in mountainous areas below 2,200 metres.

They are weak fliers because of their big bodies. When they fly, it is more like hopping. More often than not, they are found in areas with dense vegetation.